Porous Carbon Fabricated by Microbial Pretreatment of Brewer’s Grain for the Improvement of Toluene Adsorption Performance

Porous activated carbons (AC-AN and AC-AO) for toluene adsorption were prepared starting from brewer’s grain biomass pretreated with microorganisms (<i>Aspergillus niger</i> van Tieghem for AC-AN and <i>Aspergillus oryzae</i> RIB40 for AC-AO). The structures and chemical prop...

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Main Authors: Jingxin Wang, Xiaohong Wang, Xiaoping Lin, Ziyi Yu, Davide Vione, Haomin Huang, Xiaohong Zhang, Yanhong Zhang, Jiaqi He, Yun Xia, Hansun Fang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Molecules
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/29/24/5931
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author Jingxin Wang
Xiaohong Wang
Xiaoping Lin
Ziyi Yu
Davide Vione
Haomin Huang
Xiaohong Zhang
Yanhong Zhang
Jiaqi He
Yun Xia
Hansun Fang
author_facet Jingxin Wang
Xiaohong Wang
Xiaoping Lin
Ziyi Yu
Davide Vione
Haomin Huang
Xiaohong Zhang
Yanhong Zhang
Jiaqi He
Yun Xia
Hansun Fang
author_sort Jingxin Wang
collection DOAJ
description Porous activated carbons (AC-AN and AC-AO) for toluene adsorption were prepared starting from brewer’s grain biomass pretreated with microorganisms (<i>Aspergillus niger</i> van Tieghem for AC-AN and <i>Aspergillus oryzae</i> RIB40 for AC-AO). The structures and chemical properties of the three activated carbon materials (AC-AN, AC-AO, and AC that was not pretreated with microorganisms) were characterized by N<sub>2</sub> adsorption–desorption isotherms, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The adsorption behavior of the three activated carbons for toluene was studied and correlated with the physical and chemical properties of these materials. The results suggested that the activated carbons prepared by microbial pretreatment had a rougher morphology, higher specific surface area, richer pore structure, fewer oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface, and better adsorption performance for toluene (increased by 31.5% and 18.3% with AC-AN and AC-AO, respectively) compared with the untreated activated carbon (AC). The Thomas model was used to fit the toluene adsorption data, indicating that the rich pore structure accelerated the kinetic process of toluene adsorption. Therefore, appropriate microbial pretreatment of the feedstock that is used to prepare activated carbon can effectively improve its adsorption capacity towards toluene.
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spelling doaj-art-e80f88823c7d43d1916e567e3d32da5b2024-12-27T14:42:41ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492024-12-012924593110.3390/molecules29245931Porous Carbon Fabricated by Microbial Pretreatment of Brewer’s Grain for the Improvement of Toluene Adsorption PerformanceJingxin Wang0Xiaohong Wang1Xiaoping Lin2Ziyi Yu3Davide Vione4Haomin Huang5Xiaohong Zhang6Yanhong Zhang7Jiaqi He8Yun Xia9Hansun Fang10Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center of Public Health Detection and Assessment, School of Public Health, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510310, ChinaSchool of Art and Media, Guangzhou Vocational University of Science and Technology, Guangzhou 510550, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center of Public Health Detection and Assessment, School of Public Health, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510310, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center of Public Health Detection and Assessment, School of Public Health, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510310, ChinaDipartimento di Chimica, Università di Torino, Via P. Giuria 5, 10125 Torino, ItalySchool of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center of Public Health Detection and Assessment, School of Public Health, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510310, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center of Public Health Detection and Assessment, School of Public Health, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510310, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center of Public Health Detection and Assessment, School of Public Health, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510310, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center of Public Health Detection and Assessment, School of Public Health, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510310, ChinaKey Laboratory of Poyang Lake Basin Agricultural Resource and Ecology of Jiangxi Province, College of Land Resource and Environment, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, ChinaPorous activated carbons (AC-AN and AC-AO) for toluene adsorption were prepared starting from brewer’s grain biomass pretreated with microorganisms (<i>Aspergillus niger</i> van Tieghem for AC-AN and <i>Aspergillus oryzae</i> RIB40 for AC-AO). The structures and chemical properties of the three activated carbon materials (AC-AN, AC-AO, and AC that was not pretreated with microorganisms) were characterized by N<sub>2</sub> adsorption–desorption isotherms, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The adsorption behavior of the three activated carbons for toluene was studied and correlated with the physical and chemical properties of these materials. The results suggested that the activated carbons prepared by microbial pretreatment had a rougher morphology, higher specific surface area, richer pore structure, fewer oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface, and better adsorption performance for toluene (increased by 31.5% and 18.3% with AC-AN and AC-AO, respectively) compared with the untreated activated carbon (AC). The Thomas model was used to fit the toluene adsorption data, indicating that the rich pore structure accelerated the kinetic process of toluene adsorption. Therefore, appropriate microbial pretreatment of the feedstock that is used to prepare activated carbon can effectively improve its adsorption capacity towards toluene.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/29/24/5931microbial pretreatmentactivated carbonporous structuretoluene adsorption
spellingShingle Jingxin Wang
Xiaohong Wang
Xiaoping Lin
Ziyi Yu
Davide Vione
Haomin Huang
Xiaohong Zhang
Yanhong Zhang
Jiaqi He
Yun Xia
Hansun Fang
Porous Carbon Fabricated by Microbial Pretreatment of Brewer’s Grain for the Improvement of Toluene Adsorption Performance
Molecules
microbial pretreatment
activated carbon
porous structure
toluene adsorption
title Porous Carbon Fabricated by Microbial Pretreatment of Brewer’s Grain for the Improvement of Toluene Adsorption Performance
title_full Porous Carbon Fabricated by Microbial Pretreatment of Brewer’s Grain for the Improvement of Toluene Adsorption Performance
title_fullStr Porous Carbon Fabricated by Microbial Pretreatment of Brewer’s Grain for the Improvement of Toluene Adsorption Performance
title_full_unstemmed Porous Carbon Fabricated by Microbial Pretreatment of Brewer’s Grain for the Improvement of Toluene Adsorption Performance
title_short Porous Carbon Fabricated by Microbial Pretreatment of Brewer’s Grain for the Improvement of Toluene Adsorption Performance
title_sort porous carbon fabricated by microbial pretreatment of brewer s grain for the improvement of toluene adsorption performance
topic microbial pretreatment
activated carbon
porous structure
toluene adsorption
url https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/29/24/5931
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